The End of the English Major

Abstraction: Accelerating decline of humanities majors at US universities

Key points:

• From 2012–2020, humanities majors fell ~46% at Ohio State, ~50% at Tufts, ~75% at Harvard; English majors nationally down a third
• Harvard saw English majors drop from ~20% to ~5% of graduates between 2002–2020; only 60 English majors in 2020 at a 7,000-student college
• Causes include student debt pressure, STEM job market pull, state funding cuts (Arizona cut higher-ed funding by half 2008–2019), and tech-company campus recruitment
• First-generation and international students face structural disincentives: STEM visas grant 3 years post-graduation vs. 1 year for humanities; families prioritize immediate career payoff
• Some scholars argue digital humanities and interdisciplinary programs (climate, medical humanities) may absorb the field rather than replace it
• Humanities AP test-taking is up 20% over STEM in high school; the dropout occurs when students enter four-year colleges

Connections: Arizona State University · Harvard · Humanities Education · Higher Education · Stem Vs Humanities

Source: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/06/the-end-of-the-english-major